Water-motor.



TTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. 'BLACKll/IER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO BLACKMER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

WATER-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,233, dated December 3, 1901.

Application filed October 10, 1900. Serial No. 32,656. (No'model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT M. BLACKMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the countyof Wayne, in the State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Motors; and I declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to water-motors, and has for its object an improvement in the buckets and in the bucket-carrier to be used in a chamber similar to that shown in the patent forawater-motor granted to me December 12, 1899, and numbered 639,011.

The bucket and carrier which form the subject of this invention utilize the force and weight of the water to actuate the bucket in swinging toward and from the center of the carrier, and it overcomes a difficulty foundin the structure of my above-mentioned patent in the resistance by inclosed or confined water to the free action of the bucket.

In the structure of my patent above referred to the bucket was shown as a slide which traveled toward and away from the center of the bucket-carrier and into and out from or partially out from a recess or seat into which the bucket iitted somewhat closely; but when the bucket was projected the cavity behind the bucket became lled with water, and when the bucket was again returned toward the center of the carrier into the seat the water had to be displaced. If the bucket tted so loosely as to enable the water to be displaced easily, there was difficulty in packing the bucket and carrier against an excessive leakage. On the other hand,if the bucket fitted the seat so closely as to prevent excessive leakage the resistance to the return of the bucket when it was once out and the resistance to the outward travel of the bucket were both augmented to an undesirable extent; and my present invention overcomes these difficulties. A small amount of leakage back from one bucket to another, while it detracts from the effective force of the motor, is not a serious detrimentl and it is desirable that such leakage should be reduced to a minumum, not, however, to so great an extent as to produce a frictional resistance to the action of the several parts, all of which should be free to move in their appropriate way.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation with one side plate removed and with the shaft shown in section. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the bucket-carrier. Fig. 3 is a packing-ring. Fig. 4 is a split spring. Fig. 5 is a perspective of the bucket. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the mouth of the inlet as seen from within the chamber.

A indicates the casing, within which is a chamber closed in between parallel side walls and a curved wall by which the chamber is formed as parts or segments of two cylindrical chambers, the bases of the segments being placed together. The center of the cylinder of which one of said chambers forms a segment is at the center of the driving-shaft a. The center of the cylinder of which the other chamber forms a part is located on a radial lide of the rst-mentioned cylinder, which radial line is approximately perpendicular to a straight line between the two ports, and the last-mentioned center is nearer to said line between the ports than is the firstmentioned center. For brevity I will call this a double-centered chamber. One of the parallel faces is indicated at B.

the water enters the pipe E and discharges through pipe F. It works best Yfor motor purposes whenthe bucket-carrier, positioned as shown in Fig. 1, has a right-hand motion and the water enters through pipe F and discharges through pipe E; but it will work with eciency in either direction.

The bucket-carrier G comprises a 4'central hub, through which the shaft a engages, and a barrel connected to the hub by a web. From the outer periphery of the barrel project a number of arms g, one face of which is' nearly, though not quite, radial and is curved concentric to a bearing socket on the opposed face of the next adjacent arm' g. The other face of this arm is on a line very nearly tangent to the circle whichbounds the inner surface of the barrel, but is provided with a -socket g', opposed to and concentric with the bucket-seat of an adjacent arm g. Between each bucket-seat and the socket which is used in connection with it is a cavity, the bottom of which is on a line substantially tangent to the barrel and which is free from any Vobstacle which will prevent the free action of the water therein. That part of the l arm g which lies between the socket on the ture of the blade c2. The pivot c is connected to the blade c2 by arms c, which unite the pivot and the blade, but offer a minimum obstruction to the free swing of the bucket into shaft.

the pocket and out from the pocket tothe extent of its proper travel. It is immaterial whether the arms c engage closely'against the walls of the chamber or not. The blade o2 should be long enough so that its ends will extend from side to side and en gage both walls of the chamber; but lthere need be no frictional contact whatever between the arms c and any lpart of the mechanism.

Between the hub and the barrel of the carrier is an annular cavity b, in the bottom of which is placed a spring h', and over this a packing-ring h. The packing-ring h may engage closely against the hub. It -is immaterial whether it engages closely against the barrel or not. Its function :is to prevent the leakage along the face of the chamber toward the'shaft and also to prevent any water which may have passed behind it from escaping along the walls of the hub and thence to the Consequently the contact-surface be- -tween the packing-ring-and the moving parts may be small and the frictional resistance correspondingly small.

ceases In the structure thus described the bucket has freedom-to swing practically unimpeded J by any confined water in the pocket in which the bucket is located. The moving parts of the bucket-carrier may be so closely fitted to the stationary parts as to nearly prevent leakage, while they are so far spaced from them as to afford little or no frictional resistance, the only part of the device which needs to be made actually tight against leakage being the face of the ring h which engages against the hub and the face of the ring h which engages against the flat surface of the chamber, and this face generally remains at rest, allowing the hub to rotate in the packing-ring 7L'.

There is always a downward pressure ex*A erted by the water in the pipe F, and this pressure is exerted whether the machine be' used as a motor or for pump purposes.l There is always a less pressure exerted in the pipe E. If the device be in use for a motor,- the' pressure in the pipe E is only a back pressure, due to the fact that the water can-not escape with absolute freedom. If the device be in use for a pump, pressure of the water in the pipe E is due to the outside atmospheric pressure and to the lifting of the water or the partial vacuum formed by the pump action, and it follows that there is always a tend= ency to iow from the pipe F toward the pipe E. There is also 'always a greater pressure exerted downward against the blade c2 than the opposing pressure which is Yexerted upward against it, and especially is this the case' when the blade has passed toward the opening D toor beyond the lowermost part of the chamber. The force of the water just 'con-v sidered tends to actuate the bucket rto swing' the blade c2 out from its seat and against the' circular walls of the chamber.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of a casing having a double-centered chamber,a bucket-carrier ar ranged to rotate with the shaft that passes through one center of said chamber, said bucket carrier being provided with open bucket-pockets between arms that move in contact with the portion of the curved wall of said chamber that is concentric withsaid shaft, a pivot-seat in one side of each of said arms, a'blade-seat in each arm opposite the pivot-seat arched concentric with the pivotseat of the adjacent arm, buckets provided with pivots and with blades and'with connections therebetween, said blades, pivots and connections forming a frame which is ope'n in a direction radial to the bucket-carrier, so as to permit an equal fluidpressure at all times upon the surfaces of said bucket which are toward and away frrn said shaft, substanas described, a bucket having a bearing-pivot and an opposed arched blade, the outer face of which s concentric with the pivot anda In testimony whereof I sign this specificaconnection between the pivot and the blade, tion in presence of two witnesses.

said blade, connection and pivot forming a frame which is open in a direction radial to ROBERT M. BLACKMER. the bucket-carrier, so as to permit an equal Huid-pressure at al1 times upon the surfaces Witnesses:

of said bucket which are toward and away JNO. C. TOBIAS,

from said shaft, substantially as described. T. JEFFERSON BUTLER. 

